La Derniére Nuit
by Five seas
Summary: What do you do if tomorrow relies on you? With less than a month until the end of the match, angel Sora Naegino asked herself that question over and over again. But what do you do when your adversary decides to seduce you in order to win? AU
1. Préface

**I don't own Kaleido Star or Marc Levi's "Spet Jours Pour une Eternite", but I'll admit to taking up lots and lots of ideas from it (thank you, captain Oblivious) So this is a little preview, a sort of preface, not a prologue or anything, but whatever. **

**Enjoy...**

* * *

Preface

The sound of the music was mixing with the chatter in the Big Top. There was a crash of people that night, more than she had ever thought she'd seen in all three years since she'd been working for Kaleido Stage. Sora gulped, her eyes glued to the small crack in the curtain, as she took in the sight in front of her. There were red lights and smoke, making the room look as if it had caught fire, and he had to swallow the bile in her throat, an instinctive reaction to the association this whole atmosphere created for her.

It was hell, and her beloved audience was like a horde of demons, waiting to devour whatever came forth.

She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to calm down her raging nerves. It would be alright, she thought fiercely, no harm would ever fall her. It was just a show, and these were just people. Nobody would die. Nobody would be hurt.

"If that's what you really believe, then you are a bigger fool than I thought."

Sora whirled around, much too fast for her liking, and ended up face to chest with the handsome god in front of her. No…not a god…a demon, for she knew that only pain and destruction accompanied him, whenever he went. It was painfully clear to her, now, what his intentions had been upon arriving here, but she couldn't bring herself to hate him, to even feel a smidgen of the antagonism she was meant to have for his kind. Though she realized perfectly what he was, her heart seemed to have become painfully human, succumbing to his façade and grieving for this beautiful, beautiful man who would never want her in the way she wanted him.

She looked up, and sure enough, there was mockery in his eyes. His lips were tightly pressed and his face was set in stone, yet those eyes of his told her everything she needed to know. He laughed upon her naivety, her desire to make things better when they obviously were hopeless. And, in spite of all her bravery, her inherit optimism and strength, the pang in her heart told her that his mockery was completely and obviously justified.

"There would be a tragedy. Even if you manage to stop one, the other would fall. Even if you postpone the show, it would start at some point. Hell, even if you manage to drive everyone out of the building, you know it would only stall the inevitable. Your favorite is running towards death, it's just a matter of timing whether she'd drag someone down with her…"

"So what shall it be, little one?" He continued, craning his head so that their eyes would meet "Would you try to stall the demise of your beloved friend or save your enemy? Your kind is very big on love for everyone. Surely you cannot show preference." Taking a step closer, he all but crashed into her. Sora retreated, trying to keep a distance, and felt her back brush against the red velvet curtain. Those perfect lips curled back to form a triumphant sneer. "I have you in check, little angel. Why not give it up?"

"To give up now would mean that somebody would die in vain tonight." Sora replied, fighting the burning in her throat that threatened to turn into a sob. She was well aware of the hardships that waited for her, but she never expected her heart to feel so human. Right now, it weighted in her chest, making her breathing hard and erratic.

"So you would much rather have them die because you were too stubborn. You know, I could try and save one of them, as a favor." He bent down and tucked a strand of hair back with the very tips of his fingers. From the sidelines, they looked like lovers engaged in a very private conversation. Sora was completely dwarfed by his large frame, but she could feel the stares boring into them. She whipped her head away from his touch and pushed past him, ignoring the pang of electricity that shot through her arm when it collided with his chest. Just as she expected, as soon as he was out of the way, she caught sight of May's face, scrunched up with rage and jealousy.

Sora let the feeling past her, knowing that it would not be worth getting caught up into others' emotions. Instead, she started walking briskly towards the other end of the stage, turning only to look at Leon again.

"I'm not stubborn because I can't accept defeat, Leon-san. Perhaps I have chosen the wrong path before, but this isn't over yet."

"You will regret that decision." He hissed, before turning on his heel and brushing past May as if she was a chair or another inanimate object. The latter paused, torn between the desire to follow her partner or to yell at the little woman in front of her. Settling on the following, May threw Sora a vehement look and also disappeared, leaving the girl fighting the fear and anticipation that had settled in her heart.

* * *

The air was hot, stuffy from the collective breath of the audience. Sora swung in the air, fighting the urge to hold her breath in an attempt to gauge the illusion of Hell…but she needed the air, even if it was only to look human. Her body, unusually heavy, required all the work of her muscles to maintain the beautiful pose, and although May and Leon had already figured out that she was on the stage with them, the audience didn't seem to have grasped the charade.

Her skirts danced around her legs as she threw herself off the trapeze, executing a series of screw flips until landing on another one. The metal clanged dangerously, but didn't budge…good, it wasn't that one. She continued with the routine, ad libbing whenever she had to. The music was eerie and beautiful, and her movements were graceful and vibrant, but she was agonizing. Leon and May had started performing again, the latter trying to push her away from the stage and the former doing everything to keep her there. Caught between May's intensity and Leon's void, the pain Sora felt was becoming almost physical.

And it wasn't just because she was emphatic. Her body would always pick up on emotions and respond, but not like this…not when it was so close.

May roared ferociously when Sora managed to dodge her, and only the music reaching a crescendo hid the sound from the audience. May tried knocking her off again, and Sora had to let go to jump towards another trapeze at the other end of the room. It was too far off, but she had to try, at least. May wouldn't fall off the one she had just left, Sora thought frantically…

Leon landed gracefully on the upcoming trapeze, adding a bit more of a swing at it to get it closer to her. He hung from it, and in a brief moment she came to realize it. This was it. This was the moment he was building to.

Sora let out a small sigh as she reached for the trapeze herself, preparing for the impact…when suddenly, the thing jolted to life, probably by the same pang of electricity that shot through them whenever they were close, joisting away from her fingertips. She didn't even have time to cry or even gasp at shock before gravity finally kicked in and sent her plummeting to the ground.

* * *

**READ ME**

**READ ME**

**READ ME**

A/N-So I was thinking about slowing down a bit, but I kinda love Kaleido Star and I really love Sora and Leon. This may be, or may not be, much different than my usual style, but we'll see how this works out. As for me, I've had a great weekend and so I needed to do something to make it even better. If you want the story, review, my lovelies.

Oh, and one more thing-due to the fact that more and more people nowadays use the annonymous review filter to shamelessly flame works (not only mine in particular, although I admit to have gotten quite touchy on the subject), and I decided not to put up with it anymore. Now before you raise the pitchforks and say that I can't take constructive critisism, let me say that everyone has a right to defend themselves. Annonymous reviews are for those who don't have a profile here, not for those who want to throw insults and get away with it. I won't deny it, I've written some pretty bad stuff, but I'd at least like to have a way to defend myself, or, in this context, to ask the person flaming what he doesn't like in particular.

So, I apologize in advance for any discomforts I may cause, but this is my position. Thank you for reading once again, and review if you'd like me to continue with this story.


	2. Fantasie Impromptu

**So yeah, the first actual chapter. I post this without having Tsuki look at it, I hope she can forgive me for my impatience. **

**Please read and review.**

* * *

The streets were never deserted, he thought as he let the curtain drop. Now, more than ever, with industrialization providing the money for people to be reckless. Bright electric lights made the day pale in comparison, and there was no more fear of robbery in the human soul. Bohemians, light women, students, everyone was out in the open, drinking, spending, wasting away…Not that he was complaining.

His footfalls were so soft they were hardly perceptible in the quiet room, as he glided through the floor to check on the woman sprawled on the bed. Her copper hair, cut short, was all over her face, but even without it hiding her he could tell she was hardly any attractive. Like many of them, she was well put together-a regulated diet, a good cosmetician and a hell of a fitness instructor had somehow turned this bland woman into something marginally pretty-yet she wasn't beautiful. Upon closer inspection, one could notice the little bags under her eyes and that her skin was starting to sport some very interesting patches, hinting that the layers and layers of carefully applied make up were finally wearing out.

Being with him was taking its toll out of her. She was starting to grow tired faster, and slept longer, her body desperately trying to conserve energy. However, a thin coat of sweat covered her torso, a remembrance of their activities earlier-no matter how tired she was, Ema would by all means carry out her part of the agreement she thought they had…One last desperate attempt to prove her worth to him.

The man's nostrils flared slightly with distaste as he straightened up. Soon, it would happen soon, and he would have her off his hands. The woman stirred in her sleep and flopped on her belly, covering herself up with the blankets, making him chuckle dryly. Such a vain attempt at modesty, such a human one too…He would never need clothes unless the charade called for such. Even in the electric light from the street, one that rather created than dissipated shadows, he appeared like a creature from another world, an incubus or a vampire, thousands of times more perfect than her, than any of them.

He didn't need to look at the clock-he could feel the sun rise behind the smoke screen that covered Paris. The rays could do him no harm, yet he preferred to stay out of them until it was necessary. He headed for the bathroom, locking the door behind him to make sure that woman wouldn't entertain any ideas of joining him. Just as he was about to step under the water, the phone in his pants pocket rang, announcing the arrival of a new message. Sighing, he picked it up, knowing that there wasn't a way to ignore it.

_Leon, report at HQ, ASAP.-7_

Leon snorted, closing the phone and throwing it in the sink. So they had finally decided on the particulars about the match. Very well, he would go…but, he added to himself once he was under the shower, not before he finished his business here.

* * *

London was…foggy. It was the usual weather for most of the time. Sora smiled as she jogged through the street, pausing only to drop a few coins in the cap of Charlie, the homeless person who always seemed to be hanging around Sarah-san's boarding house. Of course, there were plenty of guys like Charlie around town, and especially around St. Pancras train station, but he was amiable enough and he was always polite (in an albeit scrubby way) to Sarah-san and the others.

The muscles on her calves were protesting already, but she knew it was a simple cramp, an instinctive reaction to the pressure. It would go away soon.

She circled the basketball field, greeting the kids from the nearby foster home as she did that. They gave her half-nods and gruff laughs in return, but that was the normal reaction she got. There were really a few people in the neighborhood that were as friendly as she was in 6 in the morning, and Sora was known to be terribly, terribly polite.

Had they only known the reason why, they would've been surprised, she smiled as she climbed a bench and executed a graceful ballet jump. Early mornings were the only time she could, sadly, relive the joy of dancing and performing. The whole day, she'd be too busy running errands at Kaleido Stage or for the charity organizations she worked for. Not that she counted the good deeds as work, but still, it took up most of the waking hours. And Sora had to sleep, or, at least, spend a certain amount of time in her room with the lights out, doing nothing, to keep her landowner under the impression that she was no different than any of the other twenty-somethings girls, all artists from Kaleido Stage London, that inhabited the place.

Well…alright, that wasn't entirely true. To say that she was a normal girl, just like the others, would imply that she also spent certain nights out of the dorm, enjoying some…ahem, friendly company, or entertaining them at her place. Sarah-san wasn't very particular about that one, but Sora wasn't the kind to lie on purpose, let alone keep up an illusion for too long. Everybody told her she was a lousy actress, and maybe they were right. She was just…naturally against the concept of lying. Which made perfect sense to her, as her species was genetically programmed against lying…things went a little different when you didn't mention things, but even then, the situation was very important.

Bottom line was that Sora wasn't that good at keeping an appearance of a normal girl…but as long as she concealed what she really was from everyone, it should be fine….right?

Her beeper made her start and she nearly ran into a street lamp in surprise. Catching herself in time, she took a moment to calm herself before whipping out the offending device and looking at the screen. _HQ, now.-7._ Seven? Nobody ever used seven. The concept of 'breakfast' was soon forgotten and Sora was typing a message to Sarah-san not to wait for her, as she sprinted as fast as she could towards the British Museum.

* * *

The display was always open for visitors, a good thing in her case as she was very often troubled for money. She would, whenever she passed to get her instructions, pause at the entrance and admire the structure, the white columns and the stairs spiraling up…she knew that the rooms that were reserved for the archive looked more like Dante's Hell, but the pristine, white hall reminded her more of Heaven. It was a nice place, a place for relaxation, a place for study, a nice way to spend your days…but Sora had little time to look now. Why would they dial seven? She barely got a six for the subway attack, and that was five years ago. Now seven? What could be so important?

She crossed the grand hall, past the gift shop, paused to look at "The Horsemen of the Apocalypse" paper statues that were suspended from the wall, before descending into the showroom that displayed African Artifacts. Usually, she would go down further, past Peter and the other Angels, but today, she was surprised to find someone waiting for her, sitting on the bench facing the beads display. He turned his grim face towards her, and by the looks of it, she knew there was trouble.

Slowly, Sora approached him, tugging at the sleeves of her jersey nervously. Honestly, Gabriel? They couldn't have chosen a more intimidating angel to come and give her the assignment? She felt herself flush, wondering what the proper etiquette was for such a meeting, and yet she couldn't force the words out of her mouth.

Luckily, he seemed to understand, gave her a polite smile and offered her to sit next to him on the bench. They stared at the display for some time, before Gabriel pulled out a brown envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. His voice was calm, but there was a definite edge to it as he said: "Sora Naegino…I very much hope that you are ready for the challenge that lies ahead."

Knowing that he wouldn't get any less cryptic (all of the high-ranking angels were, more or less, difficult when it came to speech), Sora cracked the envelope open and took out the single sheet of paper. On the other end of the Channel, a tall, white haired man, received the same instructions and opened the same familiar envelope. Inside, in a writing that almost appeared ancient, stood the following text:

"_From the beginning of time, Good and Evil have fought over the rule of this world. Now, once more, they will collide, for the following three weeks, and the best agent from both camps shall be sent to champion for their respective goal. So it has been said, and so it shall be done." _

Sora stared at the lines extra hard, almost like a schoolgirl, hoping to catch some hidden meaning. Nope, the words, although written in a preposterous English, were quite plain. But she couldn't see what it had to do with her. Unless…

She looked up at Gabriel who in turn looked down at her, his eyebrows winging up as if he was challenging her to ask some silly question. Gulping, she felt that whatever answer he gave would only state the obvious, and she knew better than to annoy a higher-angel. Still…if this note meant what she thought it meant, than that meant…that she…that now…that she was supposed to…

"Represent us in this match against evil, yes." Gabriel finished for her, his tone only slightly strained. Sora flushed awkwardly, and seemed to loose her power of speech for a while, giving him a perfect opening to elaborate: "Our higher authorities have already began on the terms. Three weeks, as said, and the match will go on here, in London. Their agent is supposed to come any time soon, and you are to do everything in your power to stop him from causing damage to anyone."

"But…surely, there are better ones…" Sora gasped, but Gabriel shook his head

"You were the one chosen. Your position in this mission is under no doubt." He probably had a different opinion on the matter, but he probably wouldn't entertain it, let alone share it with her "For the last millennia or so, we have been winning, but only for now. The forces of Evil are getting stronger, and it's up to you to counter them. Ask no questions how, it shall be explained on the way. But you must not give up under any pretext, Sora Naegino."

"I wasn't planning to." She replied, her chest swelling with emotions-pride, fear, excitement "I won't let you down."

"Then I suggest you waste no time." Gabriel stood up, nodding Sora off. She stood and raced for the stairs, not wanting to waste a minute of it all.

* * *

In Paris, Leon snorted as he put the folder away. The little man in front of him, a greasy clerk with the most annoying face twitch attempted to glare at him, but the white-haired demon ignored him completely. "You must head out to London. This is where they agreed that the fight should take place."

"They. Precisely. Not me." Leon replied

"Oswald, you're arrogant, but you won't deny the orders of Satan himself!" The man's face was already red with rage "Do you know what he'll do if you don't obey?"

"I know perfectly, but I won't let it bother me, Blaze." Leon grinned "The Boss is well aware I have put effort and resources in my project here. Once I'm done, I'll fly to London and take care of that little angel."

"How long?" Blaze asked, nervous sweat tickling down his chin. Leon's nose wrinkled-how unsightly.

"For as long as it takes."

"Don't take this lightly!"

"Neither will you." He replied, shutting the door behind him with a loud clank. Tonight…he would finish it tonight. He'd been dancing around the prey for a while now, it was high time he went for the kill.

Ema Robins, who totally countered her name by being absolutely unable to sing, had successfully screwed, cheated and sabotaged her way up the measly hierarchy of the Noir club, and she'd pretty much loved every minute of it. She'd ruthlessly stepped on inferiors in order to get what she'd wanted and, if something like this could be taken literally, she'd sold her immortal soul for pleasure in this little world.

Not that Leon or any other demon would care for the specifics of such behavior. They hunted all souls, good and bad, and brought disasters on every household. They neither judged or wanted to be judged, however, Leon got out a special sort of thrill when he came after a person like Ema…A person with the full conscious that they had erred and that retribution would be carried out, whether through karma or the likes of him. He enjoyed seeing her squirm, jump at every slight noise, fear the inevitable and try to buy herself time…It brought a thrill to the hunt, a sort blindness for the future to come. It was what kept him alive…

* * *

The house was full, he thought with content as he sat in the back with his glass of 200 euro whiskey and flanked at both sides by different patrons of the bar. They all glared at him snidely, but nobody dared approach him. He chuckled-of course they wouldn't. Humans were envious, sinful, corrupt creatures, but, as if they sensed that he was somehow different, superior than the rest of them, stayed down, guided by their lowly self-preservation instincts. They were angry at him, but he wouldn't be there to bother them for long.

The lights dimmed and the show, as every night, started with the annoying mimes, followed immediately by Ema's impromptu show until midnight. Everything was normal…so very normal…the air was thick with smoke and chatter. Leon swirled the drink in his glass, counting the seconds slowly.

It was a perfect accident. A worker being clumsy at the wrong place at the wrong time, hitting the wrong buttons and letting one of the decors drop. However, Ema was too busy staring at him to notice it drop until it was too late. Her eyes widened with shock, betrayal and abandonment when the realization hit her, and then, a second later, her life came crushing down around her ears.

In the hospital, they registered fractured ribs and a broken arm, a hip that had to be replaced, deep gushes on her face and some strange formations on her voice cords. Her manager sent for Leon on her behalf, but the cell whose number he had been dialing remained unanswered, ringing away on the bottom of a trash can near the Airport D'Orly.

High time to change scenery…he had an angel to catch.

* * *

Sora laughed freely as Mia and Anna threw her up in the air and curled herself into a ball, spinning out of control. Her strawberry hair was everywhere as she landed swiftly and grinned at the small audience that had gathered. There were mostly children with their parents, but they were either in a hurry to catch their train, or more interested in the more advanced, more interesting facilities around them. Surely, London could show them something better than some clowns at St. Pancras train station.

However, she never stopped moving, doing everything possible that she had in her repertoire-juggling, acrobatics, falling on her face even. The rest of her counterparts just couldn't keep up with her-they were wither too self-conscious in their bright yellow jumpsuits and striped thighs, or too unwilling to perform with crazy make-up and colorful wigs in front of an audience that was a little too difficult to please. She, however, laughed and smiled without faltering, even when one of the kids threw half an apple at her.

Mia and Anna laughed their heads off when that happened-Sora always seemed to get into the most trouble than the rest of them. She was happy, she was cheerful, and her smiles were contagious, but people rarely shared her positive, happy-go-lucky attitude on life. If only they knew…

Kaleido Stage was situated in the heart of the city, but in order to get more people to come the owner, Kalos, had his performers do a little street show every week at the train station. Such an event, however small and unchallenging it might be for the trained acrobats, it was generally regarded as a purgatory that usually attracted the actors that had fallen from grace-the ones with a trauma or the ones always stuck in the back, who needed the extra paycheck. Sora's participating willingly in it, and her refusal for the bonus had really baffled most of them at first.

But for three years they had pretty much had gotten her pegged. She participated in charity events, the kitchen for the homeless…she voluntarily offered to look after the children of the performers while they practiced and even offered her assistance when a woman of the audience went into labor once. Sora was a kind soul, the type that always tried to help, and most of all, to make people smile.

However, that sort of lifestyle had proven pernicious for her career as an acrobat. She didn't train as much as the others did, and, in consequence, she was refused to take up big roles lest she failed in the middle of the performance. In the end, she was either stuck at the very last line of the back up dancers, or she did chores all over the place-scattered flower petals, handed out programs, cleaned up after the audience left, that sort of thing. It would've made more sense if Kalos just fired her, but for some unfathomable reason that owner kept her, for the great chagrin of May Wong, the second leading lady after the famous Layla Hamilton.

The performance was over, some polite applause resonated. The girls gathered up their things and headed out to find a bathroom where they could change. Sora decided to follow suit, but not before wiping out the make up with her sleeve. Just then, he heard a quiet sniffling and turned around to find a girl, not nine years old, sitting on the floor behind her and crying.

"Hello there." She whispered, kneeling next to her "Are you alright?"

Clearly not, because she started crying even harder. People were starting to look. Maybe she should take her to the operator's room, or the policeman…Sora picked her up and looked around to see better, and immediately, she saw a tall policeman walk her way…only he looked slightly more menacing than she would've liked. O-oh….

Panicking, worried, she took a step back and collided with the tall man that just emerged behind her from the arrival's gate….


	3. Rondo a Capprichio

Sora was so surprised by the double scare of the police and the wailing child in her arms that the impact immediately threw her off balance. Luckily, being a trained acrobat and all, she caught herself before she fell and made a fool out of herself.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, sir, are you alright…" she sputtered, turning to look at the man…when she realized she had to look a little higher than his chest. She craned her head up and…well, there were to words to describe how she felt. Lightheaded? Maybe. Like the air got knocked out of her lungs? Appropriate. Probably the best thing to do at the moment was to offer a thanks that she was on her two feet, lest she would've keeled over in shock. The man, who, by the way, wasn't yelling at her or stomping away, was absolutely gorgeous…if she cared for those things anyway.

Leon, on his part, had had a day that could be described as 'damnable'. The flight had passed smoothly, nobody had been apprehended at the airport and there were no bomb threats on that day. No panic, no pain, just plain cheerfulness and clear skies, nothing to indicate that he had just started a mission in order to win the world for the forces of Evil. What was more, Ema had ended up with a broken hand, fractured ribs, a hell of a lot of damage on her throat and face and lining up for hip replacement…she'd gotten away easy as far as he was concerned.

It had been most unpleasant, and it was only the first day. If he kept this up for three more weeks, he'd not only lose the match, there wouldn't be a punishment cruel enough for him.

When he emerged from the train that brought him from Luton airport, he was feeling like yelling at somebody, and, strangely enough, an opportunity almost immediately presented itself to him. A woman with a crying child crashed into him, and he was about to start a rant, when she turned around and started apologizing. The experience was…cosmic.

As if some charm had happened, the girl in Sora's arms stopped crying and looked between the two people in amazement, before she turned to Sora and gave her a tiny smile. The angel flushed with pleasure and smiled back, forgetting for a second the intimidating man next to her.

Leon, on his part, heard a train derail somewhere underground, and sighed. Better.

He turned to look at the woman, who in return looked at him. She looked like she was about to start apologizing again, though the girl not crying was making things both easier and a hell of a lot more awkward to her. He smiled on the inside. Silly humans needed to be taught a lesson.

"You there!" the policeman that had been approaching Sora earlier appeared next to them, not giving her a chance to speak "What are you doing with this child?"

O-oh…."Well, I…" Sora sputtered.

"Is there a problem, officer?" A smooth, calm voice washed over them and it took Sora a few goes to attach it to the man she ha just bumped into. She turned to look at him and immediately regretted it-once again, she couldn't use her voice.

"I apologize, sir, but this woman was carrying this child and it didn't seem quite at ease." The policeman began, puffing his bird chest in an attempt to look more intimidating. However, there was something quite intimidating in Leon, which made him act with a lot more respect than he would've if it was only Sora he was scolding

"And why should she not? She is her nanny." The man pointed out so calmly that no-one would've doubted the truth.

"Do you know this child, then?"

"Yes." Leon slipped smoothly in the role "Her name is Sophia Emily Oswald and she is my daughter."

Daughter?! Sora looked at him, and then the girl. Well…that was surprising, to say the least. To think she might bump into her father in the middle of this crowded train station. Actually, it seemed rather suspicious. But the child was quiet now, looking between the three people with curious interest, and she didn't seem scared anymore. And besides, she did have that same long white hair and pale eyes as the man…Sora couldn't believe that there existed a natural hair color like that, but obviously, it did.

As if to prove his point, Leon held his hands out to the girl and she quickly jumped into his embrace without hesitation. There, it was true then! Sora felt the relief wash over her as the policeman quickly nodded. "I understand. I apologize for the misunderstanding, sir. Carry on!" she was about to thank him and wish him a nice day when she realized that since the mysterious stranger had spoken, the officer hadn't even looked at her, or spared her another glance.

"Yes, he most certainly did ignore you." The velvety voice called out to her again, although there was much mockery laced into it than before. Turning around to look at the silver-hared stranger again, Sora was surprised to find him staring at her with equal parts of amusement and ridicule in his violet eyes.

"I never said that…." She mumbled weakly, watching him set Sophia on the ground

"You're a little easy to read, don't you think?" he replied "You shouldn't be surprised with his behavior, though. Weaklings like him…" he nodded his head in the retreating officer's direction "…care only for two things-survival and climbing the corporate ladder. He recognized me as an important person who could get him fired in seconds for looking at me sideways…it was only natural to ignore a little person such as yourself."

"I'm not mad." Sora replied, beaming up at him with a huge smile on her face "It's only natural. And I'm glad you found your daughter too, Mr. Oswald."

"Daughter?" he raised an eyebrow, before, gently, nudging the child to go back to her "You did not pick up on my game, then."

"Game?" she wasn't, then? Shock, both at how easy people lied nowadays and how easily it had fooled her, engulfed Sora.

"You're surprisingly quick to catch up when you're nudged in the right direction." He nodded smugly, somehow, reading her again. The child was now at Sora's side, grabbing her hand into hers.

"I see then." She said, not letting herself be disappointed. Looking up again, she asked: "But how do you know that I'm going to take good care of her?"

"I don't." he shrugged nonchalantly

"But you just helped me out of a very uncomfortable situation." Sora pointed out "Why bother if you didn't care?"

"You can just say I was…curious." He replied, with a wink

"Well then…" she beamed "Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Oswald. My name is Sora Naegino." She extended a hand, which he carefully squeezed for a second before letting go.

And let the awkward silence begin….Actually, she had to get out, and he seemed in a hurry, but she couldn't bring herself to move. And he was staring at her with such intent that it felt…wrong to look away. Suddenly, she felt terribly aware of herself, in her ridiculous getup and drugstore makeup. The guy in front of her must've traveled a long time, and yet his demeanor practically screamed perfection. He had this style that was so expensively simple it intimidated everything and everyone in a ten mile radius…

And he wouldn't stop looking at her. Sora gulped, but her throat had suddenly become very tight and very dry…

What was happening to her? Carefully, she picked the child up and cleansed her mind of any impure thoughts before looking up at him again and beaming: "Well, then, I'll be off. Thank you again for your assistance."

"And where do you thing you're going?" he called after her, not exactly yelling, but loud enough for her to hear. Sora stopped dead in her tracks, this time openly embarrassed at how easily this man had affected her. Her…

"The police?" she suggested

"The operator's room is much easier." He replied, nodding in the direction

"Thank you." She mumbled again, pushing past him and quickly scurrying out of site.

Leon stared in her direction for a full minute, wondering what the hell just happened, before he walked out of the train station, got a cab…and ended stuck in the traffic jam with the most talkative driver in all of London.

* * *

The operators really did manage to locate the girls' parents who were nearly sobbing with relief when they found her. To Sora's surprise, it turned out that her name really was Sophia Emily, and when they were parting, she managed to mumble a little 'thankyou', before being carried away by her mother. Sora didn't ponder much on the fact that they barely noticed her, both because she was already late and because it really wasn't her thing.

Kaleido Stage was actually on a very short bus ride from the train station, although she had to deal with traffic jams, cranky people and road work. She was there in time to start on her chores. She didn't have to rehearsal much-the current project, "The Legend of the Phoenix", was more or less a dance medley. It was still a lot of work, but of course, it wasn't like performing with Layla-san.

It was one of the things Sora missed, performing with Layla…that is, if she ever entertained the idea that it was a good thing to pine over something. However, it was true-she loved the stage, she loved acting, and most of all, she loved to make people smile. When she was with Layla, the stage practically lit up. Three years ago, they had performed in Arabian Nights together and had lit the stage up. Then, they received invitations to perform at the World Circus festival and she'd been excited…until she'd actually flown to Paris and seen…well, everything. The cheating. The underhanded tricks. The careers, lives, relationships being broken. It took her that much to figure out how far from her mission she had strayed, and she gave up a week before the performance.

That was when Yuri Killian stepped in. Kalos found him among the list of artists who hadn't been invited to the event, but had been considered. He was the only one who could fill in for Sora at such a short notice, and he miraculously performed Layla's top maneuver, "The Golden Phoneix", flawlessly. They made it to second place, and he was offered a permanent place in the Kaleido Stage cast. Sora, on her part, was pushed slowly down the ladder until she was here.

"SORA! Those stairs aren't going to mop themselves!" May scolded her, snapping her out of her reminiscence.

"Oh, right…alright. Sorry!" She called, polite as always.

Most women in her position would've been hell bent on going back to top. Her colleagues considered her a pushover, Layla barely spoke to her anymore, and she got constantly bullied by the likes of May Wong-her, the person who once was the co-star. However, Sora never carried spite, or ambition, or a desire to fight. She understood that her being on stage would only bring more pain to people, and so she left, working her best to make people smile even from the back row. Even if she wasn't busy helping the poor and the starving, even if she wasn't an angel, she couldn't forget that cruel stage…or the horrors she saw back then.

Sighing, she carefully maneuvered down the stairs, after making sure that the "Slippery" sign was up. She was sad, however, that Layla-san had decided that their friendship wasn't worth it. They still talked, from time to time, but the star always addressed her with nothing but cold civility. The redhead sighed…honestly, she couldn't blame Layla for her behavior towards her. She put the stage before everything, and she knew there would always be ferocious fights to stay on top. She was ready to pay the price…and she couldn't understand why Sora wasn't.

If Layla-san had tried understanding, she would've learned that Sora didn't abandon her career because of her fear of fights or lack of motivation…but the young angel wasn't going to deal with that. She sighed, as she moved the mop around the stairs again. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Leon looked around the small office quietly as Kalos seated him in a chair in front of his desk. It was a well-lit room, with fashionable enough furniture, but the desk was littered with documents and the phone was conspicuously plugged off the wall. Kaleido Stage was struggling, obviously…that would explain the thoughts the owner was having, the white-haired man thought with a small smirk.

Kalos was a tall, statuesque, thirty-somethings man. Leon had already done his research-a former magician, the current owner of Kaleido Stage had been forced to quit performing after a bad trauma. The insurance had been enough to get him started, but apparently, his business was one big roller coaster ride ever since. That alone was probably enough to invoke people's respect-with the economy collapsing, it would've been easier to just give it up.

And, given what Leon had seen thus far, they would've done the world a huge favor if they DID give up-the first thing that happened to him when he came inside was that the receptionist mixed his name three times, told him that the performance was later that night and actually had the audacity to wink. Then, when he'd told her to take him to Kalos, she'd gotten herself distracted and paraded him through one of the practice rooms, where he caused enough commotion to result in a catfight…Heaven and Hell, were all the women who worked for Kalos sex crazed and unhappy? If that was so, then he pretty much had his work cut out for him. Causing this stage to collapse all by itself would probably get him far ahead of anything that angel could do.

"I'm glad you called me, Mr. Oswald." Kalos's voice snapped him out of his thoughts "Although I am surprised. When we met at the Circus Festival and I offered you work here, you told me that you were not interested in working for me."

"That was quite a while ago." He replied coldly "If I am not mistaken, it's been three years since we met. Things change."

"Really?" Kalos narrowed his eyes, suspiciously. "You don't look like you lost your job."

"I didn't."

"Then you quit?"

"That's right."

"And you wish to work for me."

"Yes."

"You were Alan's top performer." Kalos pressed on "Currently, we can only offer you a position as the partner of our second leading lady, May Wong. It will pay much less, and you will have a month's try-out."

"Please cut the questioning." Leon replied morosely "I left Alan's stage because it offered no prospects for me. Scandals were boiling backstage and we could lose our right to perform on the World Festival this winter. Here, however, I have a chance to go there and actually win."

"Do you believe that? Our couple from the last Festival, Layla Hamilton and Yuri Killian, are still our top stars. You cannot beat their Golden Phoenix."

Leon stretched his legs "This May Wong, what kind of performer is she?"

"What do you mean?" Kalos looked up, surprised. He sighed, annoyed

"She is your employee. You must know what kind of performer she is. Is she competitive? Does she care about climbing the ladder? Who does she look up to, who does she despise? Or does she slack off and goes about her job half-heartedly? Given that she is only the second in lead, she must be frustrated with her position. If you're worried that I might leave because of payment, you must have problems with employees who aren't satisfied with the money you're offering. Is she one of them?"

Kalos paused, eyeing him carefully. "No, May does not care for the money. She looks up to Layla…I think she is her hero. Overall, she is content to be the second in lead, and I think she would bend backwards for those she respects. She'll make you a fine partner….for as long as it takes."

"You seem to have something on your mind…" Leon asked, carefully arranging his features so that they looked intrigued/compassionate "Do you expect something to happen?"

The owner leaned back on his chair, eyeing the performer in front of him carefully. Leon could see the thoughts running through his head, and smirked inwardly-the man was no fool. He knew that the person in front of him was too good to actually bother with his measly stage; he knew that Leon was dangerous, that his former partners hadn't been able to last long, and that he was suspiciously quiet and aloof. A person that generally kept to himself wasn't supposed to be that interested in the affairs of someone he'd just met. Still…there was definitely something bothering him, and the faster he got it off his shoulders, the better.

"Layla's partner, Yuri Killian…they have gotten rather close during the last year." Kalos finally succumbed. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a policy against personal relationships here?"

"No. But Layla's father, Mr. Hamilton is a multimillionaire. He let her perform with the reservation that she will eventually quit and take care of the family business. With this arrangement, it was important that she didn't get into a serious relationship while she was with us. As you can probably imagine, her friendship with Yuri is like a pebble in his perfect shoes." Kalos reached to take a pack of cigarettes, before opening the window and lighting one "He has no proof of anything other than cordial camaraderie between them, but the second he does, he will insist on my firing Yuri. And if I refuse, on any grounds, he would most certainly pull away all the extra funding he's been wiring us."

"Therefore, you need a male lead in case those two become imprudent and you have to get rid of Killian?"

"Yes."

Well, he had to give the man credit, he didn't beat around the bush. Leon just shrugged. "Fine with me."

"Good." Kalos stood up "Then would you like us to discuss your work contract?"

* * *

By the end of the day, Sora was beat. Literally. She'd never taken more fallings in her life before, which was something when it came about a trained acrobat, but apparently, weirder things happened. She'd forgotten, apparently, that the stairs were washed and she fell on her ass more than she liked. Then she went to help out in the poor's kitchen and gotten involved in a fight over a loaf of bread. Of course, the other girls got her out of it, but her bad luck continued as she tripped and fell over every obstacle that came in her way.

She wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep, but she had promised Mia and Anna to go have dinner with them after the afternoon practice, which meant that sleep wasn't an option for another few hours. Needless to say that the training session wasn't something she was looking forward to with her problems with coordination today. However, she'd never complained before and it wasn't like she would say no to dancing. She slipped into her leotard and joined everyone in the main room.

Thankfully, at least they hadn't started…she didn't know if she could take another scolding for being late without bursting into tears. As she joined her friends in the back row, she suddenly became aware of hushed whispers and the half-mumbled sentences that lingered in the room. Her empathy immediately made her aware of a certain excitement amongst the female members of the cast, and a tinge of awareness from the males. However, she didn't need to eavesdrop on the conversations to know what happened. Within seconds after she took her place, the door opened and Kalos made his way towards the center of the room, with Layla and Yuri in tow. May hurried out front to greet them and ask what was going on, but the owner merely put his hand up and begged for silence.

However, the volume, instead of decreasing suddenly went to an incredibly high level, with sighs, gasps and downright shrieks of surprise adding to the cacophony when another person made his way into the room. And as soon as Sora lay eyes on him, she knew that she was completely and utterly done for.

* * *

**A/N-Umm....reivew please?**

**If anyone likes Bleach, and loves to write, my friend and I started a fic challenge. For more detailes, please visit the "From Christmas to Easter, let's write stories together!" forum on my forums (you can reach them through the thread on my profile page of the link: www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/myforums/Five_seas/1426411/ )**


	4. Grand Valse

**Well, this is a rather short chappie. Sorry guys, I couldn't quite get myself to write down lately, but I did the best I could. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sora's hand flew to her mouth to muffle her own gasp of surprise…not that it would've mattered, because her voice would've drowned in the cacophony that rose around her when the man…Mr. Oswald, the guy she'd bumped in the station, the one who'd practically saved her ass when she acted like a complete idiot and had promptly helped her save the day, walked in and stood by Kalos' side. And, sweet heavens above, he was the most delectable sight she'd had all day…all month…all her life, even. While she fancied she had a rather good memory for someone like herself, she found that what she remembered of him, merely a few hours old, was not doing him justice.

He had changed from his battered traveling clothes into a tight bodysuit, and outfit that allowed him to practice at peace and let women (and men) ogle him freely without any obtrusive material getting in the way. He was everything manly, with a tall stature and broad shoulders, thin waist and lean, strong legs. He wasn't build like a weight lifter, but he was definitely a compliment to some of the less masculine members of the cast.

_Mer-cy._

Lust is a mortal sin, she reminded herself, but they said nothing about enjoying the view. And since all of the women were currently drooling all over the next feature to the cast, she wasn't going to go to Hell just because she appreciated this….fine…example…of masculinity.

Kalos was explaining that Mr. Oswald, or Leon, had just flown in from Paris and that thanks to a lucky chance, they would have him on their team. This announcement was greeted with not-so-subtle smiles and lustful glances from the women and some dirty looks from the men. Leon glared back, but he was slightly less blatant about it. In fact, he looked mildly annoyed with the whole display, which, of course, only served to piss/turn-on the people even more. May, for one, was practically melting in smiles in front of him when Kalos said he would be her partner.

"You two will train alone tomorrow, so that you could learn about your routines and establish an understanding." Sora fidgeted in her place, the lust from all the double-entendres she was picking up from her colleagues was starting to drive her nuts. _Won't this end so that people would start behaving normally?_ She thought with irritation and Leon's eyes darted towards her. For a second, his gaze remained trained on her face, as if he had heard what she had thought, and then a tiny smile crossed his face, before he looked away.

"With that, I hope we work well together, Mr. Leon." Kalos finished, and some polite claps were heard all over the room. Sora prepared to leave, but then Kalos turned around and looked straight at her.

"Sora, there is something I need to talk to you about. Will you come into my office?"

She heaved a sigh as the emotions of those around her buzzed to life again. Worry from Mia and Anna. Curiosity from some, malice from others. May looked pretty excited, probably assuming that Kalos had finally realized she was worthless and would fire her. Layla as usually didn't give out emotions, but Leon looked like he was going to have a headache. Again, she wondered if the guy was a mind reader, and then dismissed it. What would the odds be…?

* * *

Kalos was already behind his desk when she arrived, and she slid smoothly into the room, closing the door behind her. No need for everyone to hear him yell at her.

"Sora, do you remember my friend Mr. Pack? The owner of the London Ballet Workshop?"

"Yes." She smiled "I've seen them a few times."

"Well, he gave me a call today. Pamela, his leading lady, seems to have caught a bit of a stomach flu and won't be able to perform in tomorrow's show. They need someone to be a substitute for one night. Will you be able to fill in as 'The Firebird'?"

"Oh…." Sora blinked, taken aback a little "But I haven't performed in a while. Will I be able to fill in?"

"Nobody else would do it." Kalos snapped "The London Ballet Workshop relies on improvisation and no previous choreography. None of the ballet dancers here would dare try up with their impossible routines." Standing up, he went over to the window "You should go practice, if you're so insecure. Go to their company tomorrow to try with them, I'll have someone cover for your duties here. Understood?"

* * *

Leon's head was starting to hurt. These people never quieted down, even in their thoughts! Especially his so-called partner May Wong, who seemed to constantly have something to say or do. She was constantly spewing overblown gossip or sugar-coated praises, depending on whether or not the person was on her bad side or not. Of course, he never cared for the people he worked with because he knew exactly how they would end up, but he still couldn't help the twinge of disappointment. May was just like Ema, presumptuous and annoying and drunk on power, but there was also something there…something that promised to be interesting.

"There goes Sora again." Some girl, Julie or Charlotte, he wasn't sure, they looked almost completely alike, sneered on his side. Leon didn't deign to turn around, but he caught a glimpse of candy colored hair before the person disappeared behind one of the doors "Honestly, that girl should just stop getting in the way."

"Sora Naegino used to be one of the top stars here." May took it upon to explain to him slyly "She used to perform next to Miss. Layla, but suddenly she stopped and now just does some silly chores around here. Quite tragic, the poor thing burned out so quickly!"

"Oh." Well this didn't deserve a full answer, did it? Still, that name, Sora, didn't exactly seem common around these parts. He remembered the redhead whose thoughts he had heard during his introduction. She had looked remarkably like the one he crashed into earlier today-it was too many coincidences for that not to be the same person.

"I think she had a near-death experience or something because all she cares is about making people happy and working in shelters and charity organizations. What she still does here is a mystery." May went on, not without a little malice. Curious. Although she talked of this Sora as a pushover, she looked slightly displeased with her presence. As if she was feeling…threatened. Interesting.

"Excuse me." He said "I need to retrieve something from Kalos."

"Do you need help?" May squawked, but he was out of the room before she could decide to catch up with him.

Leon left the room and immediately felt better. Taking a deep breath, he walked down the hall, fully intending to kill some time before excusing himself and saving himself from any encounters with those petty humans until it was absolutely necessary. Even for him, who had lived longer than any of these _children_ here, their stupidity was a little too much.

He made his way towards the practice rooms, not really expecting anyone to be there at the end of the day. The last enthusiasts were probably in the locker rooms, showering and changing, and he could finally have some peace and quiet. He was therefore surprised that he heart the quiet footfalls from behind one of the doors. Curious, he peeked inside and the sight that greeted him was beyond any description.

The room was drowned in the light of the dying day, creating a mist of orange and red hues that made everything look surreal and soft. Leon was familiar with heat, having seen lots from where he came from, but this room held nothing in common with the inferno raging beyond this world, and neither did the young woman currently dancing in there.

Because the light wasn't right, it took him a few seconds to blink away the blurriness and see her better. It was almost impossible to mistake her for anyone else-the pale complexion, the large eyes and the wild red hair were just so eye-catching you couldn't forget them easily. Most of all, she was a person you just couldn't overlook, she was just so…._pure_. Even her thoughts, though laced with irritation and impatience, were devoid of malice or any ill meaning, which was absolutely incredible and almost…impossible. Leon shook his head as he watched her dance in the room.

She had obviously been out of practice, but definitely not out of shape, he thought as she sank into a plié and then moved into a fouette. Her posture was perfect, her balance was impeccable and her moves were absolutely beautiful. There was beauty in the simplicity of the shapes, and he couldn't help but give her body a quick once over. He had definitely seen women with more voluptuous figures, but she was quite pretty in her own way.

Without realizing it, he had walked into the room and crept behind her as she was about to do another fouette. His hands came on her small waist and supported her as she span, helping her find her balance better. Sora, however, stumbled and nearly fell, but he held her against his chest. "Mr. Oswald!"

"We meet again." He stated with a playful quirk of his brow. She blanched immediately, and the horrified look on her face would've been quite hilarious, if it hadn't been for the fact that she was honestly panicking. Not exactly a reaction he wanted from a woman.

"Umm….it's a coincidence?" She mumbled as she tried to pull away. Leon was still having none of that. "I'm…err…really glad you're May's partner, she needed a good one…"

"Well, you know what they say, a person is just as good as their partner." He smirked cruelly "I don't promise miracles, but I can make her passable."

Sora frowned "May is one of the best here."

"Which would've sent me in panic, had I not seen you." Leon replied smoothly, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear "You have quite a good routine here."

"I was just asked to fill in for someone." She mumbled weakly

"I think you're doing quite well. You don't deserve to be pushed in the back." He moved in closer, she took a step back, and he continued to advance until he had her pressed against the wall "In fact…I think it would be sacrilegious for such a talent like yours to be so…neglected. I could speak to Kalos so that he could give you a part…" he whispered seductively, his body millimeters from hers. Sora looked like a deer in the headlights and he smirked, wondering how fast she could succumb to him. And then, with a movement that was almost impossible to notice, she slipped past him and was at the door.

"Well, that's all well and good, thank you very much Mr. Leon, but I really don't care for money or fame…" the was babbling with a hundred miles per hour while still giving him that polite smile. Her thoughts were in disarray, but…she seemed quite sincere in her desire to get away from him. "I'm quite happy in my position and it wouldn't be fair that I push away others who have worked hard to get where they are, so I'll have to decline, but thank you very much I'm glad you liked my dance I'll be performing for the London Ballet Workshop actually. Thank you for your time, but I'll be going now! I hope we work well to make a great stage together!"

With that, she was off like Hell's hounds were on her tail, and Leon was left alone in the room, staring after her and wondering what on Earth just happened.

* * *

**A/N-Ummm....review?**


	5. The Firebird

The London Ballet Workshop was, by all definitions, a free stage. The owner was aware that it was often just a trampoline for artists, or a stage for those who hadn't found anything yet, therefore he did not put an effort to hire a choreographer. Sora didn't think it very wise, to have a performance depending entirely on improvisation, but then again, it wasn't her job to think.

She arrived early to meet up with the others and dance a little, get an inkling about how the things worked, and soon found out that things weren't doing so good. Her partner, a young man named Dio, was nice enough, but the rest of the cast seemed more than unhappy with Pamela's replacement. As Sora walked onto the stage, she could count out three, four, five women who simply reeked of hostility, and just as many who stared at her with envy. She let out a quiet sigh – it wasn't good, the fact that the owner didn't put more effort into forming a permanent cast. With people and partners changing constantly, it became hard to build trust into one's partner. Currently, they tolerated Pamela because she was the best among them, but they didn't know Sora and thought she had gotten the part on false pretenses.

Throughout the brief practice, she had a hard time ignoring all the hostile glances and nasty vibes everyone gave off. She was sure that things would get better, that they would make a fantastic show, but only Dio seemed completely at ease with her. Around the end of it, one girl even tried to trip her and then accused her of being in the way. That was the cue to let everyone go, and Sora was once again left alone.

"Don't worry." Dio said as he handed her a bottle of water "Everyone's just a little tense today. There's been rumors of critics coming over for tonight's show and they're convinced that unless they get their money's worth, the workshop might close."

"That won't happen, will it?" Sora asked, brown eyes swimming with panic. One show was bad enough, but if there were critics, the whole season would be at stake. She thought of her mission – maybe it was the first obstacle she had to jump, but she suddenly felt sick with fear. Why oh why had she of all angels been chosen to represent Good? She was sure the guys below didn't waste effort into presenting their best for the tournament.

"Don't worry." Dio waved his hand casually "Nearly everyone here has a second job. Even if we close down, there will be things we could do."

Sora's heart clenched painfully, an instinctive reaction when she registered the uncertainty in his voice. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't sure either. She knew that performers often took up a second job, but that was either waiting tables or parking cars, nothing that included dancing or gave promise for career advancement. Their only chance was to get noticed, and they couldn't get noticed without trying to perform. The pressure was much greater than before, she thought with fear, and here she was on an important night filling in for the leading lady.

She smiled bravely and looked straight into Dio's eyes, saying: "Don't worry. I won't let you down."

Dio blinked, taken aback. Sure, he hadn't been a hundred percent sure about the girl Kalos had sent to fill in for Pamela, but when he had seen her dancing, a little bubble of hope had started to grow in his chest. By the end of the practice, he felt that even if they failed, it wouldn't be so bad. And now, with one glance, even though she looked scared shitless, she had somehow managed to speak with an iron conviction that the show would be a success. He actually believed it.

He smiled back and helped her to her feet.

"Come on, let's go get you fitted into your costume." He said and they took off, chatting amiably.

* * *

"Alright, that's enough." The choreographer announced. "Great job, you two."

Not really, Leon thought as he watched May trying to catch her breath. His initial evaluation of his partner had been right – May Wong was competent, to an extent, but when it came to hardcore dancing she was all talk. He couldn't believe that she was the second best, she was light years away from his league. Now, Layla Hamilton was a different matter – she had talent, yes, but she was also ruthless and ambitious to the extreme. Almost nothing came in the way of the performance, nothing. Even her friendship with Sora, something he'd learned about via his talkative partner, even that had been relinquished when the redhead had given up performing.

Leon frowned when his thoughts traveled back to Sora. That girl was strange, too strange. Selfless to the extreme, completely calm, seeming incorruptible… The memory of the previous day came unbidden and he gritted his teeth in irritation. Any other woman would have melted completely against him, taken him in on his offer, willing to give him anything he asked for in return. Instead, she had scurried away, hastily, but determinately, finding a way to brush him off semi-politely without getting herself in trouble.

It was annoying. It was humiliating. He never failed.

Trying to steady his nerves, he re-focused on May's internal chatter. That was almost annoying enough to rival Hell, he thought with satisfaction, as his internal balance was found again. There was no rush – he had three weeks to wreck havoc in London, and especially in Kaleido Stage. He had been a little too eager to cause trouble the other day, he decided, he hadn't assessed the situation well enough. The girl just had a narrow world view, too unconcerned with fame and fortune to understand the implications of Leon's offer. He would have to do something to weaken her resolve, he thought, but she would succumb eventually.

The thought of pristine-clean Sora Naegino falling made him smile in anticipation. That would be one victim he would enjoy having.

May thought his smile was linked to something about her, and her ramblings reached a new height. _He's interested, I know he is_, she thought, _just like I thought he would be. Good thing I wore this leotard today, it really does look good on me._

Leon's eyes traveled down her body, noting the clingy black thing with a low V-neck that showed off strong shoulders and a spectacular cleavage. He had to agree with her there, it looked very… inviting.

_The ground work is laid down, _her plotting continued, _but I have to make him really fall for me. A trip to _Downtown_ would do the trick – some dancing, some music, a few cocktails and he would be crawling at my feet. _That was where thoughts gave way to lustful fantasies, as Leon gave a little muscle flex to give her more incentive.

_To think that I wanted to get on with Ken Robbins before_, May thought suddenly, _what a joke_.

Ken Robbins was one of the technical directors around here – a boy so innocent and angelic with his blond hair and blue eyes he could almost rival Sora. In fact, that had been the reason why May had been teasing him before Leon came along – she had noticed that Ken was overly friendly with Sora, helping her out constantly and coming to her aid whenever was necessary, and she had wanted to stop that. May's jealousy for Sora was enough to rival a demon's, and it made the Chinese girl want everything the redhead had, even when it was someone as bland and uninteresting as Ken. However, when she got served someone like Leon on a silver platter, the blond boy had been tossed aside like an old shoe.

Leon plucked that information from her mind and filed it in for future reference. He would have to check this Ken out more closely later, to see what his thoughts were on the matter and how he could be swayed to work in his favor. Humans were so violent in their emotions, he thought, they were just too easy to sway.

"So, do you want to go out tonight?" May asked "You've never been to London before, I could show you around some places." She put emphasis on her words, speaking in throaty whispers, fluttering her lashed and showing off her milky white skin. If Leon hadn't already decided that he would start causing misery from her, he would have laughed at her feeble attempts at seduction. She had nothing to a fully formed demon, nothing.

"Perhaps. What do you have in mind?" he asked, making sure to seem politely detached. Her thoughts reeled, as his response hadn't been so fervent as before, and started recalculating quickly. Perhaps it wouldn't be good to just come onto him, she thought, suddenly panicking. She wanted to bed him, but she didn't want to appear overly eager.

"Oh, some nice places. Downtown, for instance, or The Tower. It depends on what Miss Layla wants." May babbled, and when Leon nodded in agreement, she beamed. "Let's go ask her right now!"

So eager, he thought with distaste as they moved towards Layla's dressing room. They found the star putting on her evening make-up, readying herself for her night out. Yuri leaned in on the wall next to her, looking smart in his dinner jacket.

"What's going on, May?" Layla asked as she applied mascara on, without deigning to turn around. It threw the girl off, but just for a second.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out." She suggested "Leon is new in town and I was thinking about showing him some of the sights."

"That's a good idea." Layla said "Perhaps we could take a trip to The Tower after the performance."

May's face creased with wonder. "Performance?"

"Sora will be dancing the lead in the London Ballet Workshop." Layla elaborated "Yuri and I are going to see her. If you'd like to come, I'm sure there are still enough tickets."

His partner's thoughts reeled from happiness to shock and dismay. But she collected herself quickly and said with a careless laugh: "Oh, yes, let us go see her. I'm sure it'll provide some lovely amusement for the night." She said with a coy glance over her shoulder which probably meant to show that she thought Sora would be a complete failure.

Layla didn't laugh. In fact, the star looked almost annoyed at May's conviction. "I'm curious to see what she'll do." Was the only response she gave, which didn't dampen May's spirits. The Chinese girl obviously thought Sora had nothing to her. Leon, however, focused on Layla's thoughts, filled with anticipation, interest, and even a smidgen of longing. Did she expect something? Had Sora said anything to her? Now he was interested.

* * *

Luckily, there were a few tickets left, and in Layla and Yuri's section, so May was happy to go and sweet talk the couple next to her idol to switch places with her and Leon. The four of them had a good view from the first row of the balcony to the stage. The London Ballet Workshop did not involve acrobatics like Kaleido stage did, so the hall had more room for the audience and less for the performers, but when Leon looked around people's thoughts, he discovered many of them were not feeling up to watching the performance. There were even some critics down there, feeling especially feisty, ready to cut this production to pieces if they were given the chance to. He smiled. So much potential.

The bell tolled, announcing to people that the performance was about to begin. They were advised to turn their cell phones off, although Leon knew some people did not, and he made sure to keep an eye out for a convenient mental opening for a spook. A spook was usually connected to the theatre, when a member of the audience coughed incessantly or laughed loudly at the wrong places, which disturbed the actors and even sometimes made them lose their shit. Ballet was different for the music, but he still had an opportunity to do so.

Then the music started, the haunting opening to Stavinsky's "Firebird", and the dancer that was supposed to be prince Ivan was shown as he made his descent to the lower land. Leon made a brief note that the man was adequate and re-focused on listening for openings. But then, when he reached the tree with the golden apples and Sora leapt onstage, something happened. Something entirely different.

All of the sudden, the audience's mood lifted and they focused. Even Layla brightened up. Leon leaned back into the chair, almost physically sick from the pleasure those humans felt.

And Sora… Sora was amazing. Her dancing was erratic, a constant fluttering, which was associated with that ballet, but there was more to it. There was passion in it, a real fire that consumed her and it transferred to the audience, and even to her partner when he leapt to grab her. When she tried to run, her movements weren't the clumsy attempts of a ballerina trying to ad lib, but resembled the mad fluttering of a caged bird, something that was achieved only through vigorous training. She leapt as if she defied gravity. Her dancing showed perfect command of her muscles. Her posture and turnout were flawless.

He gritted his teeth again. He couldn't reproach her. She was gorgeous. In comparison to her, the dancing of the twelve princesses looked like the attempts of a three year old with shadow puppets.

* * *

In the intermission, Layla rose to go and see Sora in the dressing rooms. May and Leon got up to join her, and even Yuri was on his feet. The three of them had no trouble slipping backstage and finding the little room the girl used to get changed.

"Sora." Layla's voice was almost warm when she came in. The girl was sitting with her partner, their shoes off as they stretched and rubbed their feet.

"Miss Layla!" Sora jumped on her feet, surprise showing even underneath her bright make up. Her eyes traveled to Yuri, May and Leon, and widened in surprise "It's so good to see you!" she smiled brightly.

"We just came around to see you. You did well in the first act." Layla said, and her tone immediately registered with May. Leon noticed how his partner's hands balled into fists and thought about tormenting her.

"Yes. That was some exceptional dancing." Even though it killed him to make a compliment, especially one that was well-earned, he knew that it would easily spite May and work in his favor if he appeared nice to Sora.

The latter, however, noticed the malice coming off from the Frenchman and recoiled slightly. "Um, thank you, Mr. Leon."

Her discomfort did not register with May. The girl was fuming, and she wanted a good jab: "Yeah, Sora, it's such a pity that you gave up performing for good. Maybe you should stay here and boot Pamela as the lead."

Layla threw her a cold glance: "May, perhaps you and Leon would do better to go and get some refreshments. I might take a while." She said.

* * *

Once out in the corridor, May tried to regain her composure by speaking against Sora as much as she could to Leon. "She's just a veneer, this girl. No real competitiveness. No real strength." She said, trying desperately to cover up her shock and anger. But Leon could see through it all – her attempt to dampen Sora's spirits had backfired, making her look like a petty child in front of her rival AND her idol, not to mention the man she planned to bed. Now, May was embarrassed and frazzled, not to mention more jealous of Sora than she had ever been. It was a perfect blend.

"Perhaps I should go back and save our seats." He said when they neared the bar. "You can take the drinks, and I'll wait for you upstairs." With that cold brushing off, he headed up casually, listening as May's thoughts grew grimmer and grimmer.

Once on the balcony, he sat down and looked around. There wasn't a person in sight. Carefully, he pressed the tips of his fingers into one another and leaned his forehead on them, closed his eyes and concentrated on his partner's mind.

Demons and angels had fought since the beginning of time, but even this war had its rules, and the one that was enforced on everyone, the one that even included the demons lords and the archangels, was that they could not force humans to do anything. Breaking a human's will and making them do something against their own minds was a kind of rape, on either side, and it was considered as a foul in the war. Leon could not force someone to do his bidding, but that didn't mean he couldn't push them in the right direction.

And he was good at it.

May's mind didn't resist when he connected it. It was full of spite and anger, misery and jealousy, the ground where Leon's suggestions could come into fruition.

_She thinks she's so much better than me,_ the Chinese girl thought_, just because Miss Layla shows preference. She probably thinks she can get her spot back whenever she wants, at the snap of the fingers. That's why she looks so happy from the sidelines, she watches us run around like headless chickens and laughs at us behind our backs, waiting for the right time to double-cross us. Well, if she thinks she's getting away with this, she has another thing coming._

Leon sucked a breath and hissed quietly: "She will pay."

* * *

_She will pay._

May's head snapped up. Somewhere along the way of her mental tirade, she had wondered away from the crowd and back into the hall behind the dressing rooms. Sora's was close enough. The thought had come unbidden, but it was very much in the mood of her own dark broodings.

_She has to pay,_ the thought continued, _or she will kick her back into the pile._

No, May couldn't allow that. She had wasted too much time and effort to be double-crossed by some veneer like Sora Naegino. She would find a way to get back to her and show Miss Layla the difference between mediocrity and real talent. She would talk to her at the bar.

_Talk to her now. Better yet, find a way to make Sora unhappy before the second act. That'll teach her. _

But… May hesitated briefly, Sora hasn't done anything yet. She's never been anything but nice to me.

_A façade. Just a part of the scheme. _

She never wants anything. She always takes the insults with a smile, May thought.

_Because she knows what's going on. She's plotting, always plotting._

May paused in front of the dressing room door long enough to hear Layla invite Sora and Dio to come over with them for drinks. Rage made her completely miss out on the fact that both of the performers politely declined. She looked around for something, anything to use to get back at Sora.

A nearby window had been broken earlier that night, when a local boy threw a ball in the wrong direction. They had surrounded the site with a rope and they had mopped the glass into a pile, but nobody had thrown it out or done anything to fix the problem. The black-haired girl approached the pile quietly, keeping an eye out. The corridor was deserted.

The tiny shards glistened invitingly in the moonlight, like rare stones. May bent over the rope and scooped up a small pile.

_Just a little, sprinkle it in her toe shoes when nobody's looking. That'll teach her. _

The sharp glass dug into her palm when she squeezed her fingers more tightly, deep enough to make her bleed. The sudden pain joisted her out of the strange trance she had somehow fallen into and she dropped the glass as if it were a poisonous spider. Her eyes widened. No, she couldn't do it. Thinking about it was one thing, but she had just caught herself actually considering doing it. Scared shitless, May shook the remaining glass off and ran from the corridor.

Leon raised his head, his brow wrinkling just slightly. The balcony was still devoid of people, but there were some that were considering going back in their seats. Not that it mattered – he couldn't try and push May back into his direction again, not until later. She was too frightened to even entertain a malicious thought, let alone consider inducing pain. She was even trying to think _good_ things about Sora, already apologetic. It was dangerous for a demon to linger for too long in such an environment – it could actually affect him.

There was something about this Sora that made people uncomfortable around her. Something that stopped viciousness in its tracks. She made people… reconsider.

He was still pondering this when people started to filter in the room.

* * *

**A/N - Told you I'd update soon. **

**But, before anyone blames me of being a genius, the idea of Leon's powers is borrowed from another author. In fact, I borrowed it from Stephenie Meyer herself, from a short story called "Hell on Earth" from a book called "Prom Nights from Hell". It's halfway decent. And the rest of the stories make up for it in awesomeness. **


	6. Peer Gynt

**The _Peer Gynt_ suite by Evard Grieg is divine :) And also fitting.**

* * *

Sora was alone. She had seen Layla and Yuri off and Dio had gone to fetch them some water. She reapplied the make-up to her face with care – it had worn off slightly from all the dancing.

She was happy. The production was running smoothly, the dancers had somehow reached an understanding to give their best without fighting, and she hadn't stumbled over her own two feet just yet. And now Miss Layla had come. She girl smiled and hugged herself tightly. She had been so nice, so pleasing, complimenting her dancing and giving her advice. Though she had to decline the blonde's offer to go drinking with the excuse that she had to get up early on the next day, Sora was sure that the ice between them might melt.

However… getting up early was not the reason why she had declined. If she had to be honest, she didn't need sleep. She could stay awake night after night without looking at it, just like she could go on forever by not eating. But she had declined because May and Mr. Leon would be there.

Leon… she shuddered. She had a bad feeling about him, even though his face and manner showed nothing but earnest interest. He had complimented her… twice, actually. He had backed her against the wall and whispered to her in a manner that had nearly made her pass out, offering his help, praising her. This time, he had been a lot less intense, but his eyes had born into her in a way that made her feel uneasy. As if she were a gazelle and he – a hunting lion in the African Savannah.

She continued thinking about it when she put on her toe shoes… and when she stood, a searing pain ripped through her, making her forget about all she had been thinking about.

Slumping back into the chair, she pulled her right leg up and took the shoe off. Small, shiny things fell from it when she gave it a shaking, falling to the ground with a gentle ping. A dozen or so of them were embedded in her stocking – clad foot.

"Oh, no…" she whispered as she examined the glass. She took off the other shoe, but it was empty. Blindly, she reached for the dressing room table for a pair of tweezers and bit her lip as she tried to remove the offending thing from her.

"Hey, Sora, we have three minutes, so…" Dio paused at the doorway, his eyes widening "Sora, what…"

"Glass." She said as she willed her hand not to shake "Someone put glass in my shoe."

He was at her side in an instant, kneeling down and taking the tweezers. He was fast, efficient – the shards fell down, leaving small, bleeding cuts in her foot. "Damnation…" he said "This looks bad. Do you have an antiseptic?"

"Yeah. I should have bandages too." She smiled through the pain "I'm a little OCD like that."

"Damn it, Sora…" Dio breathed "What are you going to do?"

"One minute!" someone yelled.

"You go. I don't have to come until the second half." Sora urged him "Don't tell anyone. I'll be fine."

He seemed uncertain, but nodded and ran out, casting one last worried glance at her. Once she was alone, she took her stocking off and tended to the wounds, before preparing once again. Squeezing her foot into the now clean shoe was torture, but she grit her teeth through it. There was still the big dance, where she had to enthuse the whole band of monsters into sleep. She couldn't pull back. She couldn't.

One dance wasn't so big, she reasoned. And if there were critics in the room, there was much more at stake than just this show. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. She could do it. She willed the pain away and stood up.

It was not often that she dug into her stash of powers, but she needed that. She sought some good feelings, the twinge of optimism from Dio, the excitement from the audience, the good mood of the director, and used it to envelop her mind and block out the pain. It was a petty trick for a fully developed angel, but Sora could only keep it up for a while. She took another calming breath and went out.

* * *

Leon watched as the ballet went on grimly. May was shaking next to him. Layla and Yuri were waiting for it to end so that they could make another attempt to enthuse Sora into coming with them.

The demon sniffed contemptuously. His perfect night wasn't going according to plan. Maybe he could use a suggestion to irritate the audience a bit, but he didn't feel like such petty tricks now. Perhaps, after they got some alcohol into May and she loosened up, he could charm his way into her bed, so that not everything would be lost, but he wasn't looking forward to it with enjoyment.

Just as prince Ivan was getting in trouble, he branded out the bright red feather the Firebird had given him and waved it around. Was it just him, or did the dancer actually look worried?

Leon forgot the question when Sora leapt onto the stage, as graceful and as light as if she were a swan. She took the center, smiled coyly around, went into the forth position, and with a demi-plié set into a series of fouettées, as the monsters were pulled into the dance.

He watched her – she did not seem frazzled, which was really pissing him off, but there was nothing he could do about it. Then, he noticed that instead of slowing down, she kept on spinning faster and faster as the music sped up. Leaning in, he started to count.

It didn't hurt, it didn't hurt, Sora thought desperately as she kept the smile on her face. Oddly enough, it helped. She felt exhilaration race through her veins, and the more faster she span, the more it came. Whether it was the audience getting into the mood of the music or just the adrenalin coursing through her, she didn't know, but she kept on spinning.

Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three… Leon's lips moved silently as she kept on moving.

The music would change soon, she noted and ended with a flourish, before setting off into a mad dance routine with the rest of the monsters.

Thirty-six… she had bulled thirty-six fouettées, and she didn't even look frazzled. Leon rolled to the balls of his feet, dragged to the very edge of his seat by the power that seemed to come off her. The mood in the hall lifted significantly as everyone stared at the firebird's dance, sucked into the spectacle irrevocably. And he didn't even mind it, didn't even pause to find a way to undo this happiness. His thoughts were focused on Sora.

The thirty-six fouettées en tournant was probably the biggest feather in a ballerina's cap. It was extremely difficult to accomplish as it took precision and concentration, and yet here was Sora, a girl that barely practiced, pulling it off with ease. Suddenly, Leon realized why Layla was so angry with the girl for almost quitting the spotlights, why May was so afraid of her. Sora Naegino didn't just have talent and enthusiasm – she was fully capable of accomplishing marvels when she set her mind to it.

And what marvels… it seemed like the girl's enthusiasm for dancing had somehow spread amongst the audience and now everyone was staring at her in awe. Even Leon had a hard time resisting the pull to just forget his worried and relax into the music. He didn't do so simply because he knew better than to drop his guard, but there was something about this girl that was… simply irresistible.

Sora's spirits lifted when she felt the rest of the cast relax into happiness. The act was nearing his finish and she steeled herself for one last dance.

Leon winced when the audience erupted into cheers. After being silent for a whole minute after the music had faded, someone just yelled "Bravo" and the hall had nearly burst in its seams from the sound impact. Not only had Sora made everyone scream in joy, he had a hard time restraining himself from getting on his feet and clapping as well.

She beamed at her partner when he took her hand and led her forward to bow, instead of going all on her own, and in Dio's eyes, there was such a fierce joy and pride Leon was almost tempted to believe there was something more between them. Then, Sora's eyes widened and her smile nearly faltered, as her walk became less certain.

Intrigued, he checked. In her mind, she was screaming with pain, and Dio provided the reason – somebody had put broken glass into her shoe.

It joisted Leon awake. He quickly checked on May – she hadn't done it – and then searched the minds of others, searching for interference. If there was another demon on his territory, he would tear the bastard limb from limb. But… no, he was alone, the agent in London. Even if there hadn't been given an order, everyone else would steer clear until the three weeks were up. Leon hadn't tampered with anyone else, but there was a girl who had tried to trip Sora into practice. She had seen May scoop the glass and had gotten an idea.

Instead of being pleased that some human had gotten the incentive to make the chirpy redhead miserable, Leon became angry. Really, really angry. Sora Naegino's misery was his for the taking, and he would allow it only when it was induced on his command. Closing his eyes, he sought the mind of the girl next to the one responsible for Sora's pain.

Why's she so angry? He planted the thought into her mind quickly, making a face at the goodness he found there. Had she done something?

The curtain dropped. Through the girl's eyes, Leon saw Sora collapse in Dio's arms. He balled his hands into fists.

_Why is she so smug? Has she done something?_

* * *

_"Have you done something?" he heard her ask_

_"I put glass into her shoe." The other one replied._

_"Why?"_

_"Oh, don't act so shocked. You wanted to see her rattled as well."_

_The people went silent, even Sora and Dio, staring at the girl._

_"Did you do this?" Dio asked, his voice dangerously calm. The perpetrator realized her mistake all too soon – before she could run, she was apprehended and quickly pushed towards the director's office, while Sora was carried in the opposite direction._

"Leon? Leon?" May's voice brought him out and he looked up "Are you there?"

"Yes." He said simply. "It… it would seem this spectacle bored me."

"Didn't it?" May beamed "It was ridiculous. Come on, let's go get a few drinks and drown out the memory."

He stood up silently and followed her to the foyer, where Layla and Yuri were waiting. Leon didn't try to look anymore – the critics were happy, the audience was happy, even May was happy, because she got to leave. The girl who put the glass in Sora's shoe was definitely getting booted off the cast, and the redhead was probably drowning in guilt right now. It wasn't his idea of a perfect night, he thought, but he still had time to work his charms on May.


End file.
